


Forever and Always

by Sioneli



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Rise of Kyoshi, The Shadow of Kyoshi
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Fluff, Light Angst, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:48:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26816860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sioneli/pseuds/Sioneli
Summary: Kyoshi is the type of college student to pull repeated all-nighters and Rangi is not having it.
Relationships: Kyoshi/Rangi (Avatar)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 123





	Forever and Always

**Author's Note:**

> I've been working on this idea for six weeks now but college is absolutely steamrolling me. In any case, it's as done as it's ever going to be. I hope you all enjoy!

Kyoshi wanted to dash her head against the table. Or throw her laptop against the wall. Spirits, even holding a horse stance would be better than this torture.

 _It’s your own fault for putting this off until so late,_ Kyoshi reminded herself. She gritted her teeth and forced herself to continue typing.

Kyoshi was mulling over the idea of grabbing another cup of tea, maybe with an added shot of Red Bull, when the door slammed open. Rangi stood in the doorway, framed by the stark light streaming in from the hall. The effect of the murderous glare on her face was slightly offset by the fact that she was wearing shorts patterned with baby turtle ducks.

Kyoshi immediately shoved the neat stack of empty tea cups out of Rangi’s line of sight and plastered a smile on her face, but the bags hanging beneath her eyes and her slumped posture betrayed her exhaustion.

“I knew I would find you up, you idiot. Kyoshi, you need to sleep,” Rangi said.

“But I —”

Rangi kicked the door shut and strode across the room to Kyoshi’s desk, close enough that Kyoshi could smell the faint floral scent of her hair. Kyoshi froze like a stalked rabbit, distinctly aware of danger but unable to move a muscle. Rangi leaned down so that her lips brushed against Kyoshi’s ear.

“You need to sleep,” she whispered again, a predatory note entering her voice.

“My essay is due tomorrow,” Kyoshi protested, but there was no conviction in her voice.

“Tomorrow at noon,” Rangi retorted. She rested her chin on Kyoshi’s head to peer at the screen. “Besides, you’re not getting anything done right now. That last sentence is hideous!”

Rangi was right. It was late, and Kyoshi couldn’t keep her eyes and mind on the screen in front of her, a problem exacerbated by her girlfriend’s proximity. Kyoshi felt her will crumbling under Rangi’s sledgehammer stubbornness.

“Fine,” she muttered, turning around in her chair to press her cheek against Rangi’s. “Just for a few hours, though.”

Rangi let out a slow, frustrated sigh as if she was tired of trying to pound a lesson through the thickest skull in the world. In one smooth motion, she grabbed Kyoshi’s sweatshirt, hauled her out of her chair, and dumped her onto the bed. The air flew out of Kyoshi’s lungs. Rangi took advantage of her bewildered state and flipped over to straddle her legs.

For the second time in as many minutes, Kyoshi couldn’t move. Rangi’s hands and fierce stare pinned her down. Kyoshi’s skin burned where Rangi’s brushed against her, and she was now well and truly awake.

“You are getting a full night of rest, Kyoshi,” Rangi ordered.

Kyoshi nodded mutely. All thoughts of schoolwork and essays had flown out of her head because Rangi was on top of her. Rangi and those fierce eyes, Rangi and the strands of hair drifting over her forehead that Kyoshi found herself reaching up to brush away, Rangi, Rangi, Rangi.

Rangi seemed oblivious to Kyoshi’s state and slid off her. She brushed nonexistent dust off her shirt and made to head for the door.

“I’m glad you see it my way. Now sleep.”

Kyoshi, now having mostly regained her mental faculties, rose up on her elbows and gave a small pout. “If you’re going to make me sleep, won’t you at least stay with me?”

Rangi huffed, but Kyoshi could see the hint of a smile on her face. “Move over, you big lump.”

Kyoshi grinned and obliged. Rangi reached over to turn off the lights, leaving the room drenched in pitch black cut through with a streak of moonlight from the window. Kyoshi let her eyes adjust and linger on Rangi, the way the silver light illuminated her delicate features and shone on her now-loose hair. Rangi gave her a pointed, no-nonsense stare back (though the darkness hid her blush) and crawled into the space next to Kyoshi.

Not that there was much room—the creator of dorm-sized beds obviously did not take into account someone of Kyoshi’s size. Her feet nearly hung off the end of the mattress. Rangi almost climbed on top of Kyoshi (again) to fit, but eventually settled for wrapping around her as tightly as possible.

Kyoshi could feel Rangi’s heart beating against hers, a reminder that they were there, in the moment, together. Kyoshi could feel pressure building in her chest with each breath. She was dizzy and falling, filled with warmth and softness and emotion that she needed to let out lest she burst.

“Thank you,” Kyoshi whispered.

She felt Rangi scoff against her skin. “For what?”

“You know. Taking care of me.” _And so much more_ were the unspoken words.

“Of course. It’s my duty and my honor.” Rangi’s reply was nonchalant, but Kyoshi could feel the weight behind those words. Duty and honor, of course, but there had to be something more holding her there, wrapped in Kyoshi’s embrace.

And maybe the darkness and the closeness made Kyoshi bold, or the sleep deprivation was truly getting ahold of her, because she whispered the question lingering on her mind, one that held all the gravity of the world.

“Will you be here forever, then?”

There was a pause so long that Kyoshi thought Rangi hadn’t heard, that maybe her request had been so quiet that it had been swallowed by oblivion. Or the alternative that she refused to think about, that Rangi had heard but wouldn’t, couldn’t, promise her.

Just as Kyoshi had decided on the latter, Rangi leaned up on one elbow so she could look Kyoshi in the eyes. “Forever. Forever and always,” she rasped out, and brushed a feather-light kiss against Kyoshi’s lips.

Kyoshi reached up, almost disbelieving, to cup Rangi’s cheek. Kyoshi couldn’t help but notice the redundancy of the phrase, but it was the most wonderful redundancy, because it promised eternities on eternities of this, being pressed together, Rangi’s hair brushing against her skin and soft breath on her cheek. She brought their lips back together, trying to convey everything she wanted to say but couldn’t find the words for. Rangi pressed into her, a force of nature in human form.

After what seemed like hours, Rangi broke off the contact. “As much as I enjoyed that, you really need to sleep,” she said wryly.

Even though Kyoshi felt that she could run to the moon and back with energy to spare, she acquiesced, but not before pressing one final kiss to Rangi’s forehead. A glowing warmth filled her chest that hadn’t been there before. And despite the looming deadlines and half-written essays, Kyoshi let herself slip away into the moment, a little slice of forever and always.


End file.
